Why we chose microlearning for restaurant staff training
We run a series of breakfast taco and coffee shops with a mission to serve great food and help our staff work at their best. Our focus is on making training simple and approachable for everyone.
Drawing from over ten years of experience in the restaurant industry, I've seen firsthand that bulky training manuals just don't work. People rarely read them. That's why we've switched things up: instead of thick binders, we use a microlearning platform called 7taps.
“We googled TikTok style learning videos, 7taps came up — and the world was a better place!”
7taps helps us create short, practical job aids and resources that our team can actually use day-to-day, right where they need them.
Watch Brooks Veazey sharing his microlearning best practices at MicrolearningCONF
How we use 7taps Microlearning
1. To train new restaurant team members
7taps does a really good job of bridging the technology gap. Some of our staff don't speak English very well, and training in 7taps can be language-independent. We have created training with videos or GIFs for tasks like rolling tacos.
2. To support shift leaders on the job
A huge component of the hospitality industry is labor. We have to manage it thoughtfully to honor the people we work with and ensure we are not wasting money. We created a 7taps how-to training for shift leaders to help them in their daily work and put a QR code at the Expo, where the shift leaders stand. They can scan the code and get the info right on their phone if they have any questions.
3. To support restaurant staff in the moment of need
For instance, we have job aids that walk the team straight through the process of cracking eggs the Ladybird way. And we also put 7taps QR codes on all of our recipe sheets. If the staff has a quick question, they don't have to get a manager or pull out another document — they can simply scan the code of the recipe card and see in real life how someone's preparing the dish. It takes a maximum of two minutes, and they can click straight to the part they need to answer that question.
We actively involve our team members in creating content, and we value their opinions on the usefulness of our materials. We use communication platforms like Slack to facilitate the feedback loop within the company.
4. To launch new menu items
Launching a new menu item is intimidating, especially for people working in a line who need to learn how to do it. We decided to use 7taps to introduce a s'mores quesadilla with housemade chocolate and caramel dipping sauces last fall.
We sent a training how-to video to the line and a 7taps announcement to everyone, including the front of the house. We messaged them through our internal communication platform and placed a QR code in the store.
Our learning principles
Right Information at the Right Time
We strive to provide our staff with targeted and concise information at the right time using QR codes leading to 7taps training content. We primarily use videos and images to take away the noise and reduce friction.
Right Place
We make the information easily accessible right where our team members work.
Right Person
Placing a QR code in the kitchen ensures information is provided to the right person. We let our team use their phones because they are using them anyway. It’s more efficient in a fast-paced environment than asking employees to walk to a hallway and use a computer when they need to learn something.
